THE QUEEN OF SPAIN LETIZIA INAUGURATES THE EXHIBITION ON AMAZIGH ARTS IN GRANADA, IN THE PRESENCE OF DR LEILA MEZIAN BENJELLOUN. 5 December 2019

Today, Thursday 5 December 2019, Queen Letizia of Spain inaugurated the Berber exhibition ‘La Granada Zirí del siglo XI y el universo Bereber’ at the Palacio de Carlos V of the Alhambra in Granada, in the presence of the President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, and the Minister of Culture, José Guirao, as well as many Spanish and Moroccan personalities.

The exhibition, created in close collaboration with Dr. Leila Mezian Benjelloun, President of the Leila Mezian Foundation, aims to raise awareness of Berber culture and its profound influence on the Iberian Peninsula in Andalusia.

On this occasion, Dr Leila Mezian Benjelloun, the main contributor to the Andalusian exhibition, which includes almost 300 works, has put a large part of her private collection at the service of the exhibition. Jewellery from the different regions of Morocco, ceramics and basketry, pottery, carpets, textiles, embroidery and weapons from different periods were exhibited, highlighting the history and cultural heritage of the Amazighs.

The exhibition, which will remain open through 21 April, will give way to a large permanent museum of Amazigh arts in the gardens of the Alhambra, on the initiative of Dr. Leila Mezian Benjelloun.